Bosco showcase draws big crowd of college coaches
BELLFLOWER >> St. John Bosco's spring practices are drawing big crowds again, for the first time in more than two years.
Bosco held its annual spring college showcase on Wednesday at Panish Family Stadium to provide an opportunity for more than 100 of its players to show their skills in front of coaches from 65 colleges and universities.
“I think our kids did a really good job,” St. John Bosco coach Jason Negro said. “For us to get out here and to be able to participate in front of this many college coaches and put our kids under some pressure was a great thing for us today.”
Since 2017, the Braves have had 69 players go on to play football at 43 different colleges and universities. Negro said that's a testament to his program's focus on development, which is rooted in the school's culture of brotherhood.
“If we can get out here with some live action and give our kids an opportunity to use the platform we've created here to get exposure, we're always going to do the best we can, and I think our kids performed really well today,” Negro said.
Bosco will begin the 2022 season on the road against Allen High School in Texas on Aug. 26, before playing at Bishop Amat on Sept. 2 and Central Catholic in Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore., on Sept. 9.
“Anytime you have an opportunity to test your skill set against some of the nation's best teams, you're certainly going to take advantage of it,” Negro said.
“We're going to go down to
Texas. Obviously it's a very difficult, challenging thing for our program to do. But I think we're going to rise to the occasion and play as well as we can.”
The Braves will begin Trinity League play with road games against Servite and Mater Dei on Sept. 30 and Oct. 7, respectively.
On offense, Bosco will be led by rising quarterback Pierce Clarkson, who split time with former Bosco quarterback Katin Houser during his sophomore and junior years.
Clarkson, who committed to the University of Louisville in January, said he's ready to be the team's full-time starting quarterback in the fall.
“Heading into this year, I'm ready to go,” Clarkson said. “This team is special. We have big goals that we want to accomplish and we're not going to stop until we get them.”
Clarkson will be accompanied by a strong offensive line and talented skill position players such as wide receiver Jahlil McClain, who also has committed to Louisville, and tight end/ defensive end Matayo Uiagalelei. They will both be seniors in the fall.
On defense, Negro said he has talented players at all three levels.
Negro is particularly excited about junior-to-be linebackers Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa and Khmori House, linebacker Deven Bryant, cornerback Jshawn Frausto-Ramos, cornerback Marcelles Williams, and safeties Ty Lee, RJ Jones and Peyton Woodyard.
“This was my first time back on the field in a year, so I'm blessed to be our here,” said Viliamu-Asa, who has recovered from a knee injury that caused him to miss the 2021 season.
“It's a great feeling to come out and compete.”
Viliamu-Asa said it's been an arduous journey to get back on the field but he learned the importance of faith through his trials.
“It's the type of journey that makes you stronger. I'm blessed to be where I'm at right now,” Viliamu-Asa said. “Just trusting the process in rehab and grinding and putting the work in.”
Said Negro: “We've got a lot of talent and a lot of depth in some areas. We're going to be really fast on defense, big up front and I like what we're going to be able to do come August.”
Clarkson says his team has the makings of a championshipcaliber team.
“We're going to show why we belong,” he said. “And at the end of that, our goal is to win the national championship.”
Negro says that as long as Bosco's student-athletes continue to work hard, they will have an opportunity to be competitive against several nationally-ranked teams on their schedule.
“Overall, I think our kids did exactly what we wanted them to do — come out and compete and put themselves in the best position to get recruited,” Negro said.